Charlie Franklin
Charlie Franklin is the twin brother of Lexi and the younger half-brother of Seb Franklin. The twins were born in 2012 to Abi Franklin and her abusive partner Darren. Abi had already descended into a mire of drugs and alcohol and it was left to Seb, himself only a child, to protect, feed and clothe his younger siblings. Seb began a relationship with Faye Windass in 2016 which was objected to by Anna Windass, her mother by adoption. Her negative feelings were exacerbated when Seb assaulted Jackson Hodge who he jealously saw as a rival for Faye's affections and spent several months in Larchfield Young Offenders Institute as a result. Anna became more determined than ever to keep Seb away from Faye and took him home one evening, determined to speak to his mother about her wayward son. He refused to let her inside the unkempt house but she caught a glimpse of the two children with their brother and the obvious love and affection the three held for each other. Intrigued and concerned, Anna took more of an interest in what was going on in his home life. Despite partner Kevin Webster's objections, she went back to the house where at first she was again denied entry but she refused to leave until he let her in and saw the state in which the three of them were living. Seb was terrified of his adored siblings being taken away and broke down as he tried to convince Anna that he was trying his best to look after them. Her maternal side came to the fore and she brought the three back to 13 Coronation Street while she tried to work out something better for them. There, she ordered Seb to bath the twins while she prepared a proper meal for them, much to the annoyance of Kevin when he came home. The three soon returned to their own house but Anna kept a close eye on them, helping with the shopping of more wholesome foods than Seb had been providing, but all behind her own family's back. There she finally met Abi, who was usually drunk or hungover, and unable or unwilling to mother her own children. When Anna found out that Abi was a former heroin addict, she found herself further drawn into trying to help the youngsters, but in secret so that Abi wouldn't stop her, and much to Seb's relief and gratitude. Anna thoroughly enjoyed playing with the youngsters and the arrangement went on for several weeks however social services were closing in and the day arrived in October 2017 when they two children were taken into care. Seb blamed Anna for alerting them but it was Sally Metcalfe who had actually made the call to the authorities. A few days later, Seb ended up in Weatherfield General after falling off a ladder but was cheered up when Anna brought the twins in to see him. The twins remained in care and were fostered out to the Boulton family. Abi got herself clean in 2018 and determined to get the twins back by proving to social services that she was now fit and proper for the task. Social worker Claire Manton brought the twins to 11 Coronation Street on 8th August for Abi's first unsupervised visit but the day went badly. The twins were nervous in their mother's company and only wanted to know where Seb was. Charlie went momentarily missing and was found by a hysterical Abi in the Rovers's back yard. Frantic at the thought that it would not put her in a good light with Claire, Abi begged the youngster to keep quiet about the incident but as is the nature of small children he blabbed, earning Abi a rebuke from Claire for the deception. Events took a turn for the worse in the autumn when Tracy jumped to an erroneous conclusion and suspected Abi of sleeping with her fiancé Steve McDonald. In revenge, she sabotaged the cooling hose on Michelle Connor’s car which had been left unattended in the Autocentre while Abi was working on it. It was then involved in an incident which ended with the death of gangster Ronan Truman and the police’s investigation showed up the sabotage. Abi fell under suspicion and Kevin Webster had no option but to sack her, especially when she slapped him after he commented that her kids were better off without her. When she tried to remonstrate with him again a few days later, Claire turned up for another visit with the children just at the moment that Abi threatened to hit Kevin again. She was forced to tell her everything that happened, worried that she would never see the children again. Abi's self confidence plummeted and, after agreeing that the Boultons could take the children to Lapland for Christmas, she went to their home where she watched them playing happily in the garden while she downed a bottle of vodka, growing more and more dispirited as she realised how much better the twins were doing without her. While Abi may have given up hope, Seb hadn't and he applied for special guardianship of his half-siblings at the same time as the Boultons applied for formal adoption. A granting of such an order for Seb required special conditions, such as him being able to provide a roof over his head, sponsorship of an adult over twenty-one and full-time employment. As Eileen was his landlady, she was the obvious choice as sponsor but she refused, agreeing with Abi that the twins were better off where they were, especially as Seb's employment was at Gary Windass Construction where he was temporarily laid off due to a downturn in business. On the day of the hearing, Seb was fully sacked from the yard for arguing with his mother and Eileen about the hopelessness of the case in front of a customer but lied to the court hearing about his home and employment circumstances. Abi was asked to testify and exposed her son's lies, truly believing that the twins were far better off with the Boultons. Their adoption order was granted which meant no contact with their mother and Seb bar a once-a-year exchange of letters. The four were allowed a final meeting in Claire's presence before they were taken away for good. List of appearances 2017 *Sun 10th Sep *Mon 11th Sep (1) *Mon 11th Sep (2) *Mon 2nd Oct (1) *Wed 4th Oct (1) *Mon 23rd Oct (1) *Mon 23rd Oct (2) *Wed 1st Nov (2) 2018 *Wed 8th Aug (1) *Mon 29th Oct (1) *Mon 12th Nov (1) *Mon 12th Nov (2) 2019 *Fri 1st Feb (1) Category:Coronation Street characters Category:Twins Category:Franklin family Category:2012 births Category:2017 minor characters Category:2018 minor characters Category:2019 minor characters